On Tuesday, I went and rented a fun little game called Prototype. It was really enjoyable. So yesterday, I popped it into my machine to resume the story. One mission called for me to, while under heavy enemy fire, keep an enemy's attention while luring him to a certain spot far away, and protect him from the military. I turned off the game, and walked away. This was an escort mission.

 

They've been around for as long as I've been gaming, and I just don't understand why developers keep spewing out escort missions in their games. Nobody likes them, so why do they keep making them?

 

Opinions?

I have no problems with them at all really. Some of them are horrid though but most of them are good.

Because people like them.

i've played protype through and the only escourt mission i recall is escourting the thermotank to the hvies before you steal it to hit the big hive where tht women was taken

I don't mind them sometimes, like the Little Sister at the end of Bioshock, but in RE4 it just got annoying when Ashley got herself killed. Still, at least I could tell the [bleep] to hide in a bin.

 

They're probably thrown in just to break the monotomy nowadays, to stop critics complaining.

I have to agree, i can't stand escort missions. It is getting better in modern games where the people you escort actually have some fairly good AI, some of the things escortees would do in older games was just downright frustrating.

For the most part I don't mind escort missions. They don't frustrate me that much.

 

 

Dizzle, you're going to hate Bioshock 2. You have to escort little sister's all over Rapture.

...they're making all of Bioshock 2 as one big escort mission?

 

Well, it's been nice knowing you guys. I'm going to go fall asleep in the garage with the car running.

there are better ways than that, i mean come on. that takes forever.

They've been around for as long as I've been gaming, and I just don't understand why developers keep spewing out escort missions in their games. Nobody likes them, so why do they keep making them?

Because the gaming gods hate you.

...they're making all of Bioshock 2 as one big escort mission?

 

Well, it's been nice knowing you guys. I'm going to go fall asleep in the garage with the car running.

 

 

I don't know if it is all one big escort mission, but it does play a large role.

 

 

[hide] As a Big Daddy, you can choose to harvest or adopt Little Sisters. If you adopt them, you have to protect them whenever they gather Adam.[/hide]

[hide] As a Big Daddy, you can choose to harvest or adopt Little Sisters. If you adopt them, you have to protect them whenever they gather Adam.[/hide]

Evil is looking REALLY attractive now.

 

They aren't bad though. I mean, as long as the AI isn't dumber than a rock. Which most of the time it is.

aren't i always attractive?

 

also, i'm not interested in bioshock 2, so this part of the conversation doesn't mean much to me, i wasn't interested in the first bioshock really. escort missions don't bother me much.

I used to hate Fable I's escort mission of the traders. I boasted a lot.

 

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Especially on Morrowind - They get stuck so damn much.

I don't mind if the person I'm excorting will follow my every step. I do mind if I have to take the AI's path and we have to stop every 45 seconds so that he can "fix" something or rest because he has a sprained ankle or something.

Usually they are done poorly. Now and then though the AI is smart enough and is more of an actual partner than a nuisance, which is what I like. Good example would be Alex tagging alongside of you in Episode 1 for HL2.

Usually they are done poorly. Now and then though the AI is smart enough and is more of an actual partner than a nuisance, which is what I like. Good example would be Alex tagging alongside of you in Episode 1 for HL2.

 

Perfect example of good escorting. She can die if you're careless, but she can take care of herself in most situations, and she doesn't get stuck on the environment.

Most of the time the AI is just [developmentally delayed]ED, so yeah, I have to agree with you dizzle.

I used to hate Fable I's escort mission of the traders. I boasted a lot.

 

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Especially on Morrowind - They get stuck so damn much.

That's the kind of thing that I would be talking about, an AI that can't handle one weak enemy and calls for help when you're being brutally assaulted by 10 (Fable example: Hobbe cave)

I despise escort missions. I would not miss them at all.

I kind of enjoy escort missions as long as there isn't something that just drags the game play down. Bad AI, over the top difficulty (like having to try for 70 times until you get 'lucky' and make it)...etc, were really what plagued previous games. Nowadays it's pretty much a smooth flowing adventure.

Hell, in l4d2 I feel like half the time it's an escort mission with the Ally's AI.

I could also ask why gamers use escort missions as an excuse not to challenge themselves. The mission you described is actually pretty well designed. The enemy you're supposed to 'escort' follows you in stead of some preset path. It's also just as mobile as you are. You can use your whipfist to keep its attention without ever really risking it beating on you. I actually thought that the idea of escorting something that's trying to kill you was a nice twist.

I could also ask why gamers use escort missions as an excuse not to challenge themselves. The mission you described is actually pretty well designed. The enemy you're supposed to 'escort' follows you in stead of some preset path. It's also just as mobile as you are. You can use your whipfist to keep its attention without ever really risking it beating on you. I actually thought that the idea of escorting something that's trying to kill you was a nice twist.

I didn't really have a problem with that mission in Prototype. I just hate it when the thing you're escorting goes at the speed of a injured snail, or gets stuck.

I'm only speaking from experience from WoW, but I love escort missions. I would much rather have a target to protect than going to area X and killing 15 of monster Y. Time is a factor with escort missions; not so much with the other quests.

 

Though I don't really know what escorting is like in other games. AI in WoW isn't completely [developmentally delayed]ed.